Auxiliary floor for railway-cars.



W. E. VAN DORN.

AUXILIARY FLOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLlCATlON FIL ED JUNE 3,1915. P d J 1 1 1,212,121. atente 2111.9, 9 7.

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AUXILlARY FLOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1915.

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AUXILIARY FLOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1915- 1,212,121. Patented Jan. 9,1917.

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near as ra'r WILLIAM E. VAN DORN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'IO VAN BORN GIRDER PLATE GOMFANY, A CORPORATION GL? ILLINOIS.

AUXILIARY FLOQR FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, .IVILLIAM E. VAN DORN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Auxiliary Floors for Railway-Cars, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as ;will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

Refrigerator cars and other railway cars that carry fruits, vegetables or other perishable goods are generally provided with a loose removable floor arranged above the permanent floor of the car; this loose floor being so constructed that an air space is left above the permanent floor to provide for ventilation and circulation of air. Formerly this loose flooring was made of short joists across which are nailed boards lying a few inches apart; the floor being divided into sections which may be conveniently handled. This old style of flooring has many disadvantages. Thus, for example,

the joists take up considerable space which is therefore not effective air space, and they prevent any appreciable circulation or flow of air transversely thereof. Furthermore, cars provided with loose flooring are often used for hauling other goods than those of a perishable nature and then the loose flooring, not being needed, either takes up much valuable space where it is piled up in the end or side of the car, or if removed from the car, it will not thereafter be at hand when it is again needed. Again, because of the nature of the loose flooring, it is always a temptation to those having access to the empty cars to take a section or two for their own use. Consequently, because of removal of the flooring when not required, carelessness of workmen, and theft, there is great wastage of loose flooring; putting the railroads to a great expense, not only on account of the actual cost of the flooring to be replaced but also because of the delay in placing a car in condition to be loaded when it is found that more or less of the loose flooring is missing. On the other hand, even where not misused, the life of the flooring because of the manner of constructing the flooring is short. In a Specification of Letters Eatent.

Application filed June 3, 1915. Serial No. 31,843.

Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

construction disclosed in an application of Nilliam T. Van Dorn, Serial No. 21772,

many of the disadvantages in the old style of flooring, heretofore pointed out, have been overcome. but there still remains the disadvantage that the loose or auxiliary flooring is not permanently attached to the car and may therefore under certain con ditions be removed.

Viewed in one of its aspects, my invention may be regarded as comprising improvements on the construction shown in the aforesaid application, whereby the auxillary flooring is made a permanent fixture of the car.

. Viewed in another of its aspects, my invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple and novel auxiliary floor and means for shifting it from the bottom of the car to a position underneath the ceiling or roof of the car.

Generally speaking, my invention may be said to have for its object to produce an auxiliary floor apparatus which shall be a permanent fixture of a car and be movable readily from the working position in the bottom of the car to an idle position which leaves the main floor of the car unobstructed.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinthe claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the follo "mg detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a View partlyin section and partly in side elevation of one-half of a railway car equipped in accordance'with'the present invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectlon through the half of the car shown in Fig. 1, taken in a plane at some distance above the floor; Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken approximately on line 33 of Fig. l, the auxiliary floor being shown in full lines beneath the roof or ceiling and in dotted lines on the main floor of the car; Fig. e is a section on an enlarged scale taken ap proximately on line 4ll of Fig. 1, a fragment of the auxiliary floor being shown in full lines in its raised position and in dotted lines in a partly lowered position; Fig. 5 is a side view of the supporting bracket or fixture shown in Fig. 4-, looking toward the left from the right hand side of Fig. at; and Fig. 6 is a section on an enlarged scale of a detail, taken approximately on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

In constructing the flooring, I prefer to take advantage of the teachings in the aforesaid Van Dorn application, so as to obtain a strong durable floor affording perfect ventilation; although the details of the floor construction form no par-t of the present invention except as hereinafter specifically pointed out.

In accordance with my invention, lifting and holding apparatus for the auxiliary floor is made a permanent part of the car and is permanently attached tothe auxiliary floor, thereby afiording'not only a ready and convenient means for shifting the auxiliary floor from its working position on the main floor to an idle position beneath the ceiling or roof of the car, but also a means for fastening or holding the auxiliary floor in the car so that it: can not be removed readily. By employing lifting devices or apparatus in whichthe force'employed by the workman may be greatly multiplied, the necessity of making the auxiliary floor in comparatively small sections is obviated and the floor .may therefore be made in the form of a single unit or in comparatively few large sections, as desired. Where the auxiliary floor is made in the form-of a single unit or in a few large sections, an added safeguard against removal from the car is afforded because the very size of the individual unit makes it difficult or impossible for an inn authorized person to remove it from the car where, on the other hand, the ordlnary small section can be removed by a single person I without difliculty.

In the drawings I have illustrated only a single practical embodiment of my invention, applied to a car having refrigerators at. the ends andthe auxiliary floor being made in two pieces, each half as long as the clear. space in the car. For the sake of brevity I shall confine the detailed description to the single embodiment illustrated, although it will of course be understood that the structural details may be widely varied Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the floor of a car, 2 and8 the sides and 4: the ceiling or roof. The auxiliary floor is made in two sections each having half the length of the car, one of these sections being indicated at 5. It is desirable that the end of the auxiliary floor be elevated slightly adjacent to the refrigerator if there be a refrigerator inthe end of-the car, in order to permit the ready entry of the cold air beneath the 2111K. iliary floor. In thearrangement illustrated, the car is. provided with a refrigerator, -6,

in the end and the adjacent portion of the auxiliary floor, as indicated at T, is inclined. In order that the top of the inclined portion 7 of the loose floor may assume a position in the plane of the top of the remainder of the auxiliary floor, the part 7 is hinged to the remainder of the floor as indicated at 8, and one or more supporting pieces, 9, project out beneath the hinged part from the main body of the floor so as to provide a support which holds the hinged part in a horizontal position when the auxiliary floor is raised from the main floor.

On the under side of the auxiliary floor section 5, about midway between the ends, is a drum, 10, revoluble about a vertical axis. 0n the drum is a worm wheel, 11, with which meshes a worm, 12, on the inner end of a shaft, 18, which is supported on the un der side of the floor section and extends into the vicinity of the end of the center of the car where it is provided with an operating handle, 1%, which may be of the ratchet type or any other type. The handle ll preferably lies between two of the cross pieces, 15, of the floor so that it will at all times be out of the way when not in use. The drum, with its worm wheel, may conveniently be arranged in acasing or housing, 50, fixed to the underside of the loose floor by means of fastening devices passing through ears, 31, or otherwise. The casing or housing is also preferably provided with a pocket, for the receptionof the worm, 12, the operating shaft, 13, passing through and being revolubly supported in one wall of the pocket. Connected to the drum are the inner ends of a plurality of cables, which travel over suitable-pulleys or guides to distributed points at the sides of the floor section where they pass up along the sides of the car to points of attachment at the roof or ceiling. It will be evident that by manipulating the handle 14: so as to rotate the drum in the proper direction, the entire floor section will be lifted from the main floor and be raised up beneath the roof or ceiling, the worm drive serving as a lock which will hold the tloor wherever it may happen to be. In the same way, when the auxiliary floor is to beput into use, it is lowered by turning the shaft 13 in the reverse direction. lVhere the handle 1% is a ratchet handle it may con veniently be operated when projecting upwardly as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, while the auxiliary floor remains in the lower portion of the car, and be turned to the dotted line position so as to be operable from below, while the floor is traveling up or down in the upper regions of the car.

In the arrangement illustrated, there are four of the lifting and supporting cables, as indicated at 16, the cables being grouped in pairs lying side by side and extending in opposite directions, lengthwise of the car,

from the drum. At some distance from each end of the floor section is arranged a suitable sheave device, 17, permitting the cables of each pair to pass in opposite directions to the sides of the floor where they travel underneath suitable flanged rollers, 18, mounted on the auxiliary floor so as to revolve about horizontal axes extending longitudinally of the car. The rollers 18 are so located that the cables passing over them lie close to the sides of the car. The cables are continued to the top of the car where they are secured in any suitable way as indicated at 19.

In order to protect the cables at the sides of the car when the auxiliary floor is down, I have provided protecting channels, 20, secured to the sides of the car just behind the cables, the flanges of the channels projecting inwardly past the cables and thus forming housings open on one side only. The parts are so proportioned that the channels serve not only as housings for the cables but also as tracks on which the rollers 18 may run; the auxiliary floor being thus positively guided in its up and down movements and being prevented from binding or swaying.

When the auxiliary floor is resting on the main floor of the car, the load is removed from the cables and consequently they are doing no work and are not being subjected to wear. It is also desirable that the cables be relieved of the weight of the floor when the floor is stored beneath the roof or ceiling. To this end I have provided a series of automatic supporting dogs distributed along the sides of the car in position to engage with the auxiliary floor when raised, and hold it raised independently of the cables. These dogs are best illustrated in Figs. 4t and 5. Referring to these figures, 21 represents a concaved plate or casting set into the wall of the car with a concave side directed toward the interior of the car. Arranged within the recess in the member 21 is a dog, 22, pivotally supported upon a pin or shaft, 23, extending through the same at a point between the ends thereof; the pin or shaft 23 extending lengthwise of the car so that the dog is free to swing in a transverse plane. A suitable spring, 24, arranged in rear of the upper arm of the dog tends constantly to press the upper arm of the dog outwardly as indicated in full lines in Fig. 4:. Pivoted on the lower end of the lower arm of the dog is a lever, 25, having one long arm which is the actuating arm and a short arm provided with a cam-shaped end, 26.

Normally the parts occupy the positions projecting dogs and push them back against the tension of their springs. WVhen the. floor rises high enough to clear the upper ends of the dogs, the springs force the latter outwardly to their normal positions which brings them underneath the floor and in position to support the same if the cables are given a little slack. When it is desired to lower the floor, the operator goes along the sides of the car and swings each of the levers 25 outwardly to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, the cam, 26, acting against the bottom of the recess in the member 21 and forcing the lower end of the dog outwardly and the upper end inwardly clear of the floor. The parts remain in this position as the short arm of the lever 25 serves as a strut to resist the tension of the spring. As the floor is lowered, it engages with the projecting levers 25 as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, and swings these levers to their normal idle positions, allowing the springs 25 to carry the upper ends of the dogs outwardly so as to be ready to slip in place under the floor when it is again raised. If desired, the auxiliary floor may be provided on the under side, near the edges, with a protecting angle iron, 27 which takes the wear produced by the sliding contact between the floor and the dog and between the floor and the operating levers.

For the sake of clearness I have illustrated my invention as simply as possible, leaving the cables exposed on the underside of the auxiliary floor. It will of course be understood that the cables may be housed or covered in any suitable manner as, for example, by passing them through conduits, so as to protect them against damage while the auxiliary floor is raised.

It will thus be seen that I have provided an auxiliary floor construction which may not only be conveniently stored in an out of the way place when not in use, but which is a permanent fixture of the car and cannot be removed either inadvertently or otherwise, without either employing proper tools or destroying the apparatus more or less. Furthermore, by providing power actuating means for raising and lowering the auxiliary floor, the latter may be made in such large units as to make its unauthorized removal from the car a diflicult matter even after the connections with the car are destroyed. Consequently practically all danger of not having a complete auxiliary floor when it is wanted, is entirely overcome. Furthermore, the utilization of power multiplying devices for actuating the floor makes the shifting of the floor a simple and convenient operation.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to' ing it from the top ofthe car, and addi tional means'for supporting the auxiliary floor in a raised position independently of the aforesaid means.

The combination with a CitlkOf an auxiliary perforated ventilating floor adapted to rest upon the main floor of the car, cables extending between the auxiliary floor and the upper part of the car, means for actuating said cables to raise the auxiliary floor into the vicinity of the top of the car, and means for supporting the auxiliary floor in its raised position independently of said cables.

3. The combination with a car, of an auxiliary floor adapted to rest upon the main floor of the car, cables extending up the sides of the car from the auxiliary floor, protective ledges projecting from the sides of the car 011 opposite sides of the cables, and means for actuating the cables to raise the auxiliary floor into the vicinity of the top of the car.

at. The combination with a car, of an auxiliary floor adapted to rest above the main floor of the car, a drum on the under side of the auxiliary floor, cables extending from the drum to the sides of the car and up the latter to the upper part of the car, and means for actuating said drum to raise and lower the auxiliary floor.

5. The combination with a car, of an auxiliary floor adapted to rest above the main floor oi the car, a drum on the under side of the auxiliary floor, cables extending from the drum to the sides of the car and up the latter to the upper partof the car, a worm wheel fixed to said drum, an actuating shaft mounted on the auxiliary floor, and a worm on said shatt meshing with said worm wheel.

(3. The combination with a car of an auxiliary floor adapted to rest above the main floor of the car, a drum on the under side of the auxiliary floor, rollers at the sides of the auxiliary floor, cables extending from said drum over said rollers and up the sides of the car to attaching points at the top, and means for rotating said drum to raise and lower the ai'zxiliary floor.

7 The combination with a car, of an auxiliary perforated ventilating floor adapted to rest upon the main floor of the car, and means for raising the auxiliary floor to and lowering it from the top of the car and keeping it secured to the car in all of its positions.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

WILLIAM E. VAN DORN.

Copies)! this patent may be obtained forfive cents each, by addressing the Commissioneiof Patents, Washington, D. C. 

